2022-5丨General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

Eph. 4:9 (Now this, "He ascended," what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph. 4:10 He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.)

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Eph. 4:14 That we may be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error,

Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,

Eph. 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

I. The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is by the giving of the gifted persons (such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers), who are constituted in the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, by Christ as the Head in His ascension (including His resurrection), to His Body—Eph. 4:8-12; Acts 2:24, 27; 1:9:

Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

Eph. 4:9 (Now this, "He ascended," what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph. 4:10 He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.)

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

Acts 2:24 Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, since it was not possible for Him to be held by it.

Acts 2:27 Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you permit Your Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 1:9 And when He had said these things, while they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him away from their sight.

A. Ephesians 4:8 says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men”:

Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

1. Height in the quotation from Psalm 68:18 refers to Mount Zion (vv. 15-16), symbolizing the third heaven, where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30).

Psa. 68:18 You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; / You have received gifts among men, / Even the rebellious ones also, / That Jehovah God may dwell among them.

Psa. 68:15 O mighty mountain, O mountain of Bashan, / O many-peaked mountain, O mountain of Bashan:

Psa. 68:16 Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountains, / At the mountain on which God desires to dwell? / Indeed Jehovah will dwell there forever.

1 Kings 8:30 And listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear then in Your dwelling place in the heavens; and when You hear, forgive.

2. Psalm 68 implies that it was in the Ark that God ascended to Mount Zion after the Ark had won the victory (Num. 10:35); this portrays how Christ won the victory and ascended triumphantly to the heavens.

Psa. 68 To the choir director. Of David. A Psalm; a Song

Psa. 68:1 Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered; / And let those who hate Him flee before Him.

Psa. 68:2 As smoke is driven away, You will drive them away; / As wax melts before fire, / The wicked will perish before God.

Psa. 68:3 But the righteous will rejoice; they will exult before God / And be glad with rejoicing.

Psa. 68:4 Sing to God; sing psalms to His name; / Triumph in Him who rides through the deserts - / For Jah is His name - and exult before Him.

Psa. 68:5 A Father to the orphans and a Judge for the widows / Is God in His holy habitation.

Psa. 68:6 God causes the solitary to dwell in a household; / He brings the prisoners forth into prosperity; / But the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Psa. 68:7 O God, when You went forth before Your people, / When You marched through the desert, Selah.

Psa. 68:8 The earth trembled, the heavens also dripped, / At the presence of God; / Sinai there quaked / At the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Psa. 68:9 You shed forth bountiful rain, O God; / You confirmed Your inheritance when it languished.

Psa. 68:10 Your living flock dwelt in the land; / In Your goodness You provided for the poor, O God.

Psa. 68:11 The Lord gives the command; / The women who bear the glad tidings are a great host.

Psa. 68:12 The kings of the armies flee. / They flee! / And she who abides at home / Divides the spoil.

Psa. 68:13 Though you lie among the sheepfolds, / There are dove wings covered with silver, / And its pinions, with greenish yellow gold.

Psa. 68:14 When the Almighty scattered / The kings in the land, / It snowed on Zalmon.

Psa. 68:15 O mighty mountain, O mountain of Bashan, / O many-peaked mountain, O mountain of Bashan:

Psa. 68:16 Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountains, / At the mountain on which God desires to dwell? / Indeed Jehovah will dwell there forever.

Psa. 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, / Thousands upon thousands; / The Lord is among them, / As at Sinai, in the sanctuary.

Psa. 68:18 You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; / You have received gifts among men, / Even the rebellious ones also, / That Jehovah God may dwell among them.

Psa. 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who day by day loads us with good; / God is our salvation. Selah.

Psa. 68:20 God is to us / A God of deliverance, / And with Jehovah the Lord / Are the goings forth even from death.

Psa. 68:21 Indeed God will smash / The head of His enemies, / The hairy crown / Of him who goes about in his guiltiness.

Psa. 68:22 The Lord said, I will bring them again from Bashan; / I will bring them again from the depths of the sea,

Psa. 68:23 That you may bathe your foot in blood, / That the tongue of your dogs may have their portion from the enemies.

Psa. 68:24 They have seen Your goings, O God, / The goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary:

Psa. 68:25 Singers go before; players after; / In the midst of virgins sounding the tambourines.

Psa. 68:26 Bless God in the congregations, / Even Jehovah, O you who are of the fountain of Israel.

Psa. 68:27 There are little Benjamin, who rules them, / And the princes of Judah in their company, / The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

Psa. 68:28 Your God has commanded your strength; / Strengthen, O God, that which You have done for us.

Psa. 68:29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, / Kings will bring a gift to You.

Psa. 68:30 Rebuke the animals of the reeds, / The herd of the bulls among the calves of the peoples, / Trampling on those who lust after silver; / Scatter the peoples who take delight in war.

Psa. 68:31 Nobles will come out of Egypt; / Cush will quickly stretch out its hands to God.

Psa. 68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, / Sing to God, / Sing psalms to the Lord, Selah.

Psa. 68:33 To Him who rides upon the ancient heaven of heavens. / Behold, He utters His voice, a mighty voice.

Psa. 68:34 Ascribe strength to God; / His excellence is over Israel, / And His strength is in the skies.

Psa. 68:35 You are awesome, O God, from Your sanctuaries. / The God of Israel, He gives strength and power to the people. / Blessed be God!

Num. 10:35 And when the Ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, O Jehovah, and let Your enemies be scattered; / And let those who hate You flee before You.

3. Through His universal traffic and in His ascension, Christ led as captives those who had been taken captive by Satan and made them gifts to His Body—Eph. 4:8-11:

Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

Eph. 4:9 (Now this, "He ascended," what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph. 4:10 He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.)

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

a. The redeemed saints had been taken captive by Satan before they were saved by Christ's death and resurrection—cf. Luke 4:18.

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed,

b. In His ascension Christ led them captive; that is, He rescued them from Satan's captivity and took them to Himself—Psa. 68:18.

Psa. 68:18 You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; / You have received gifts among men, / Even the rebellious ones also, / That Jehovah God may dwell among them.

c. In His ascension Christ led them to the heavens as His captives in His train of vanquished foes and made them gifts to His Body.

d. Now God is celebrating Christ's triumph over them, His vanquished foes, and leading them as His captives in a triumphal procession in His move for His ministry to build up His Body—2 Cor. 2:14.

2 Cor. 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place.

B. The more Christ ascends and descends within us, capturing and vanquishing us, the more He fills us with Himself to constitute us as gifts to His Body—cf. Eph. 4:9-10.

Eph. 4:9 (Now this, "He ascended," what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph. 4:10 He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.)

II. The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is by the gifted per-sons' perfecting of the saints in the divine dispensing so that all the saints may be able to do the work of the New Testament ministry, that is, to build up the Body of Christ—vv. 11-12:

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

A. The Greek word for perfecting in verse 12 also means “completing,” “equipping,” “supplying the functions”; the way to be perfected is to grow in life and to become skillful in function.

Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

B. The gifted persons perfect the saints by nourishing them according to the tree of life with the life supply for their growth in life—Gen. 2:9; 1 Cor. 3:2, 6.

Gen. 2:9 And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1 Cor. 3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. But neither yet now are you able,

1 Cor. 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.

C. The gifted persons perfect the saints (according to their measure) to do what they do for the direct building up of the Body of Christ—Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:11-12; cf. 1 Tim. 1:16; 4:12:

Matt. 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

1 Tim. 1:16 But because of this I was shown mercy, that in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ might display all His long-suffering for a pattern to those who are to believe on Him unto eternal life.

1 Tim. 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but be a pattern to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

1. The apostles perfect the saints by visiting the churches (Acts 15:36, 40-41; 20:20, 31), by writing epistles to the churches (Col. 4:16; 1 Cor. 1:2), and by assigning their co-workers to stay in certain places to perfect the saints (1 Tim. 1:3-4; 3:15; Titus 1:5).

Acts 15:36 Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brothers in every city in which we announced the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.

Acts 15:40 But Paul chose Silas and went out, having been commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers.

Acts 15:41 And he passed through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

Acts 20:20 How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house,

Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease admonishing each one with tears.

Col. 4:16 And when this letter is read among you, cause that it be read in the church of the Laodiceans also, and that you also read the one from Laodicea.

1 Cor. 1:2 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours:

1 Tim. 1:3 Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things

1 Tim. 1:4 Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God's economy, which is in faith.

1 Tim. 3:15 But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.

Titus 1:5 For this cause I left you in Crete, that you might set in order the things which I have begun that remain and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you:

2. The prophets perfect the saints by teaching them to speak the Lord into people, by speaking in the meetings to set up a model, and by helping the saints to live a prophesying life by being revived every morning and overcoming every day—Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 14:31; Prov. 4:18.

Acts 13:1 Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

1 Cor. 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

Prov. 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, / Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

3. The evangelists perfect the saints by stirring them up to be burning in the gospel-preaching spirit, by teaching them with gospel truths, by training them to preach the gospel, by helping the saints to be equipped with the power of the economical Spirit, and by setting an example of loving the sinners and praying for them—2 Tim. 4:5.

2 Tim. 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelist, fully accomplish your ministry.

4. The shepherd-teachers perfect the saints by shepherding—feeding and nourishing the young saints and teaching the growing saints—Acts 11:25-26; 13:1.

Acts 11:25 And he went forth to Tarsus to search for Saul;

Acts 11:26 And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it happened with them that for a whole year they were gathered in the church and taught a considerable number and that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

D. The result of this perfecting is that we will all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—Eph. 4:13; cf. John 17:23.

Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.

E. This perfecting will cause us to be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a satanic system of error—Eph. 4:14.

Eph. 4:14 That we may be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error,

F. Shepherding and teaching are the essential functions among the gifted persons given by Christ as the ascended Head to the churches for the building up of His Body (John 21:15-17; Matt. 28:20; 1 Cor. 4:17b; 7:17b; 2 Cor. 11:28-29); in addition, Christ as the Head of the church also charged the apostles to appoint elders in all the local churches to carry out His shepherding of His flock (1 Tim. 3:1-7; 5:17a; 1 Pet. 5:2a) and to be apt to teach in order to strengthen the shepherding and carry out its goal (1 Tim. 3:2b; 5:17b).

John 21:15 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.

John 21:16 He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep.

John 21:17 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.

Matt. 28:20 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age.

1 Cor. 4:17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church.

1 Cor. 7:17 However as the Lord has apportioned to each one, as God has called each one, so let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.

2 Cor. 11:28 Apart from the things which have not been mentioned, there is this: the crowd of cares pressing upon me daily, the anxious concern for all the churches.

2 Cor. 11:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I myself do not burn?

1 Tim. 3:1 Faithful is the word: If anyone aspires to the overseership, he desires a good work.

1 Tim. 3:2 The overseer then must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach;

1 Tim. 3:3 Not an excessive drinker; not a striker, but forbearing; not contentious; not fond of money;

1 Tim. 3:4 One who manages well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity

1 Tim. 3:5 (But if one does not know how to manage his own house, how will he care for the church of God?);

1 Tim. 3:6 Not a new convert, lest being blinded with pride he fall into the judgment suffered by the devil.

1 Tim. 3:7 And he also must have a good testimony from those outside, that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

1 Tim. 5:17 Let the elders who take the lead well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and teaching.

1 Pet. 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly;

1 Tim. 3:2 The overseer then must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach;

III. The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is by the direct building by all the members—into the Head and out from the Head:

A. In order to be built up, we must hold to truth in love, growing up into the Head, Christ, in all things—Eph. 4:15:

Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,

1. We must hold to the divine truth of God's eternal economy, of the all-inclusive Christ, and of the church as the Body of Christ.

2. We must be subject to the Head, Christ (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23; 1:22, 10), and allow His divine life to expand and increase into all our inward parts (Rom. 8:10, 6, 11; 2 Cor. 5:4).

1 Cor. 11:3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

Eph. 5:23 For a husband is head of the wife as also Christ is Head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the Body.

Eph. 1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,

Eph. 1:10 Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him;

Rom. 8:10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

Rom. 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

Rom. 8:11 And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

2 Cor. 5:4 For also, we who are in this tabernacle groan, being burdened, in that we do not desire to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

3. The word Head in Ephesians 4:15 indicates that our growth in Christ should be a growth as members in the Body under the Head; our growth is not only in Christ but also in His Body.

Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,

B. Out from the Head, in the divine dispensing, all the Body is joined closely together through every joint of the rich supply and knit together, interwoven, through the operation in the measure of each one part—v. 16:

1. When we grow into the Head, we can produce out from the Head many functions for the building up of His Body.

2. Every member of the Body of Christ has a measure through the growth in life and can function for the growth and building up of the Body of Christ.

C. The joints supplying and the parts functioning cause the growth of the Body unto the building up of the Body itself in the divine love—v. 16:

1 Cor. 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but he who prophesies builds up the church.

1 Cor. 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

2. The growth of the Body of Christ is the increase of Christ in the church, which results in the building up of the Body by the Body itself—Eph. 3:17a:

Eph. 3:17 That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

a. When Christ enters into the saints and lives within them, the Christ within the saints becomes the church—Col. 3:10-11.

Col. 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

Col. 3:11 Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.

b. The Body of Christ grows by the growth of Christ within us and is built up this way—1:18; 2:19.

Col. 1:18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things;

Col. 2:19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

3. The love in which the Body builds itself up is the love that is the very element, the inner substance, of God; it is the love of God in Christ, which becomes the love of Christ in us, by which we love Christ and the fellow members of His Body—1 John 4:7-8, 11, 16, 19; Rom. 5:5; 8:39:

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and everyone who loves has been begotten of God and knows God.

1 John 4:8 He who does not love has not known God, because God is love.

1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God has loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:16 And we know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.

1 John 4:19 We love because He first loved us.

Rom. 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Rom. 8:39 Nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

a. It is in the condition and atmosphere of such a divine love that we are saturated with God to be holy and without blemish before Him—Eph. 1:4.

Eph. 1:4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,

b. It is in such a divine love, realized and experienced by us in a practical way, that we are rooted for growth and grounded for building—3:17.

Eph. 3:17 That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

c. It is in such a divine love that we bear one another for the oneness of the Body—4:2-4.

Eph. 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing one another in love,

Eph. 4:3 Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace:

Eph. 4:4 One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

d. It is in such a divine love that we hold to truth, that is, to Christ with His Body—v. 15.

Eph. 4:15 But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,

e. It is in such a divine love that we need to walk—to live, act, and have our being—as the beloved children of God, who are God-men, born of God, possessing the life and nature of God, and belonging to the species of God, to be imitators of God—5:1-2.

Eph. 5:1 Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children;

Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.

D. “The direct building of the organic Body of Christ is by the Body itself. The Body is built directly by all the members of Christ functioning, each in his own measure, mainly in prophesying—speaking for the Lord??This direct building by all the members of Christ takes place through the perfecting work of all the gifted persons under the bountiful supply of the divine element of the ascended Christ in His ascension. We need to practice [this] so that we can see the reality of such an organic building on this earth” (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1988, vol. 4, “Further Light concerning the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” pp. 388-389).